Alessandrini, Adolfo

Report on the growing threat of a Soviet blockade of Berlin, the focal point also of a meeting of the Atlantic Council in Paris in December, 1961.

Report on NATO’s emergency plan to protect Berlin if the Soviets try to blockade the city. The plan consists of three parts: diplomatic negotiations, limited military action, and large-scale military action. Alessandrini outlines the conditions in which each phase would be implemented if Berlin finds itself under Soviet attack.

Italy's permanent representative to NATO Alessandrini writes to PM Andreotti in preparation for the upcoming Paris summit. He shares general remarks about the state of the alliance and current issues in international relations focusing on the German question, Cuba, and Sino-Soviet relations.

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The document is part of a broad quantity of material prepared by the Italian Permanent Delegation at the Atlantic Council in Paris, and forwarded from Alessandrini to Andreotti (Minister of Defense). It is a group of several briefings (8 in total), drafted by the RICA, in view of the next Atlantic Council meeting at ministerial level, which will take place in L'Aja. The briefings are divided according to the topics that will be addressed in that meeting.
This document sums up the state of the negotiations for a Multilateral Force. The negotiations are now in their 7°month. Here there is a focus on Italy's position, which puts Italy in its current state of isolation with regards to this project. The document presents various reflections about the future prospects of this project."

In this report to Foreign Minister Piccioni, Alessandrini addresses the key problems with NATO, focusing on the lack of internal cohesion . He names the German problem as the most important issue of the alliance, but touches also on De Gaulle's politics and European integration.